Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pneumatic hammer adapted for use on auto body surfaces to remove dents, bumps, creases and other surface irregularities.
Under conventional auto body repair practice, dents and creases are often removed from auto body surfaces with wooden handled hammers. The repairman pounds the auto fender or other auto body surface while holding a metal dolly (anvil) behind the auto body component. This is a slow, physically-tiring process. Unless the repairman is very skilled or has many years experience, it is difficult to apply uniform evenly distributed hammering pressure across the dented surface. In many cases the process is complicated by the lack of space in which to swing the hammer.
The present invention contemplates a small pneumatic hammering tool that takes up a relatively small space in the direction of the hammering axis. The hammering tool includes a manually-operable air passage restrictor mechanism that can be used to vary the flow rate of the pressurized air admitted to the air cylinder in the tool, such that the hammering force can be varied without changing the air supply pressure.
Actual hammer force is delivered by one of several hammering elements that may be selectively attached to a head structure formed on the end of a piston rod that extends from the hammering tool. These hammering elements have differently contoured hammer surfaces, e.g. flat, convexly rounded, concavely rounded, conical pick point, etc., such that hammering tools can be used to correct (eliminate) various different types of auto body surface irregularities.